More Details on Fashioning Cascadia

As briefly and previously mentioned, this summer's big exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, Fashioning Cascadia, is all about the apparel and fashion industry in the "Cascadian corridor," incorporating the work of designers from Portland (Adam Arnold, Anna Cohen, and Michelle Lesniak, to name just a few) as well as Seattle designers like Michael Cepress, and even includes visitors from well outside the region, like Brooklyn-based fashion historian and writer Emily Spivack, Sweden's Otto Von Busch, and San Francisco's Stephanie Syjuco, who will be leading workshops throughout the show's run (it debuts May 9 and will remain until October 11).

The offerings look pretty diverse, with a project that deals with the stories and meaning attached to clothing items, a vintage fashion runway show, a series of artists in residence, and workshops on dazzle camouflage and felting, and a three-day symposium from May 30-June 1 asking: "In the way that this region has transformed the fields of transportation, energy, and food, how can we harness this momentum to innovate the apparel industry?" And actually I'm just going to keep quoting their language here because it's kind of vindicating to hear someone else phrase it:

This conversation needs to happen in Portland. With increasing attention being brought to artisanal craft, bespoke culture as the new DIY, and the return of homegrown production, this region is primed for a project that is able to mobilize and present these interrelated ideas... The intersection of Portland's notable legacy brands with thriving contemporary craft/design culture has created an ideal environment for innovation that honors legacy while embracing experimentation.

Much of the schedule is currently up if you want to get started with your summer scheduling (I am).